John Locke (August 29,1632 - October 28,1704) was one of the first British empiricists. He was one of the most influential Western philosophers during the Enlightenment. He was considered an anti-dogmatic philosopher. He influenced both Voltaire and Rousseau, great Enlightenment philosophers. He had a great affect on epistemology and political philosophy. He was also inspired by the works of Rene Descartes.
Biography
Locke was born on August 29,1632 in Wrington, Somerset. His father fought in the English Civil War of 1642. After the birth of Locke, their family moved to Pensford. Locke was educated at Westminster School and at the Christ Church in Oxford. Then, he became involved in politics and medical research. He received his bachelor's degree in 1656, and in 1658 he received his master's degree. In 1666, he met Anthony Ashley-Cooper. He saved Anthony's life by removing a cyst on his infected liver. He moved in with Anthony while looking for a career. He lived in France from 1675 to 1679. Due to the fact of the Rye House Plot, Locke moved to the Netherlands. He returned back home from the Netherlands shortly after the Glorious Revolution. Locke died on October 28, 1704 and is now buried at the churchyard of High Laver.
Major Works
Locke wrote many books that concerned the human mind, such as Essay Concerning Human Understanding which was published in 1689. Also published in that year was A Letter Concerning Toleration. Two Treatises of Government was published in the year of 1690. In 1693 he published Some Thoughts Concerning Education. The book The Reasonableness of Christianity was published in 1695.
Philosophy
Locke believed in no innate ideas. He thought when a person was born, they were "as blank as a chalkboard before a teacher comes into the classroom." This is what Alberto told Sophie in "Sophie's World". The theory of the blank slate or tabula rasa was Locke's way of describing the emptiness of a new person. By emptiness, I mean that with no innate knowledge, we have nothing to rely on in the beginning of your life. All our thoughts and ideas come through by way of our senses. But, your senses can only give you a limited amount of knowledge.
He believed that anything that took place in our mind, was considered an idea. Locke made us think about what we really see. He thought that we don't have a real perspective of the world. For example, just because I'm looking at this computer screen doesn't mean there is a real computer screen inside my head. We can't look at the world if everything popped in our head! This is why Locke questioned the way we see the world.
He thought that the words "God" and "eternity" were not used as correctly as they should be. He believed that you had to see it to believe it. Since no one has seen God or experienced the eternity, there is no way to know if those words are "true." But, there are things, under some circumstances, that apply to everybody. Such as, everybody knows that a basketball is round. There is no way someone can say that a basketball is cube-shaped and be correct. This was his simple idea of sense.
Interesting Facts
He never got married.
He was baptized on the day of his birth.
He saved a man's life by the name of Anthony Ashley-Cooper.
Famous Quotes
"All mankind...being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions."
"All wealth is the product of labor."
"As people are walking all the time, in the same spot, a path appears."
"All men are liable to error; and most men are, in many points, by passion or interest, under temptation to it."
John Locke
Introduction
John Locke (August 29,1632 - October 28,1704) was one of the first British empiricists. He was one of the most influential Western philosophers during the Enlightenment. He was considered an anti-dogmatic philosopher. He influenced both Voltaire and Rousseau, great Enlightenment philosophers. He had a great affect on epistemology and political philosophy. He was also inspired by the works of Rene Descartes.
Biography
Locke was born on August 29,1632 in Wrington, Somerset. His father fought in the English Civil War of 1642. After the birth of Locke, their family moved to Pensford. Locke was educated at Westminster School and at the Christ Church in Oxford. Then, he became involved in politics and medical research. He received his bachelor's degree in 1656, and in 1658 he received his master's degree. In 1666, he met Anthony Ashley-Cooper. He saved Anthony's life by removing a cyst on his infected liver. He moved in with Anthony while looking for a career. He lived in France from 1675 to 1679. Due to the fact of the Rye House Plot, Locke moved to the Netherlands. He returned back home from the Netherlands shortly after the Glorious Revolution. Locke died on October 28, 1704 and is now buried at the churchyard of High Laver.
Major Works
Locke wrote many books that concerned the human mind, such as Essay Concerning Human Understanding which was published in 1689. Also published in that year was A Letter Concerning Toleration. Two Treatises of Government was published in the year of 1690. In 1693 he published Some Thoughts Concerning Education. The book The Reasonableness of Christianity was published in 1695.
Philosophy
Locke believed in no innate ideas. He thought when a person was born, they were "as blank as a chalkboard before a teacher comes into the classroom." This is what Alberto told Sophie in "Sophie's World". The theory of the blank slate or tabula rasa was Locke's way of describing the emptiness of a new person. By emptiness, I mean that with no innate knowledge, we have nothing to rely on in the beginning of your life. All our thoughts and ideas come through by way of our senses. But, your senses can only give you a limited amount of knowledge.
He believed that anything that took place in our mind, was considered an idea. Locke made us think about what we really see. He thought that we don't have a real perspective of the world. For example, just because I'm looking at this computer screen doesn't mean there is a real computer screen inside my head. We can't look at the world if everything popped in our head! This is why Locke questioned the way we see the world.
He thought that the words "God" and "eternity" were not used as correctly as they should be. He believed that you had to see it to believe it. Since no one has seen God or experienced the eternity, there is no way to know if those words are "true." But, there are things, under some circumstances, that apply to everybody. Such as, everybody knows that a basketball is round. There is no way someone can say that a basketball is cube-shaped and be correct. This was his simple idea of sense.
Interesting Facts
Famous Quotes
Bibliography
Horn, Armour Van. "John Locke Quotes from QOTD.org (page 3 of 6)." Quotes of the Day - Qotd.org. Web. 24 Mar. 2011. http://www.qotd.org/search/search.html?aid=3775&page=3.